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• WELCOME •

1st class terminal – Frankfurt Germany

If this is your first time to Renes Points or you are a rookie to the frequent flyer game, this is the right place to start. Please take the time to read this and look around this blog and others at BoardingArea.com. You will learn a TON, but it takes time to both understand and then follow the ideas we talk about.

Let me start with a warm HELLO and thank you for reading the blog. I am René your Renes Points blogger. My blog is focused on Delta Air Lines and how to enjoy, yes enjoy, the travel experience with Delta. I also cover anything I think you will find valuable in the points and miles game. You can find out more about me and contact info HERE. Also you will see in the blog, and in this post, many things in blue that are underlined. They are “click-able” links that will open a new window for more information about the topic being talked about.

So what is this all about? Travel in general has become not much fun. Agree? I do not! Those of us who share a passion for all things points and miles understand you can still, for VERY little cost, and some time, travel like the “good old days”!

OK so maybe even better than the good old days. Just take a look HERE and HERE at a trip to Sweden my wife and I took for $111 each plus points.

So how can you do this too? Let’s get started understanding how to amass a ton of points for travel. One of the absolute best ways is by earning points from credit card sign-up bonuses. You may say, wait a second, hold your horses, that will ruin my credit having all those credit cards! Sorry to tell you, you are wrong. Your GOOD credit, and maintaining your GOOD credit, can be a great asset to earn literally millions of frequent flyer points. Many of us, yours truly included, get a bunch of  credit cards. How do we do this? Basically this:

• Step 1) Know you credit score (check it FREE here).
• Step 2) every 91+ days ( or 3-4 months ) apply for a “batch” of points cards, say 2-5 ALL on the SAME DAY
•  Step 3) do the above again and again and again!

Some questions answered:

Why apply for so many cards?

You get a lot of points at once (once you meet the spend needed to earn the bonus points that is)! Each time you request new credit you get a hard pull on your credit report. Also, how often you do this will affect your ability to be approved by a lender. But, if you make several requests, basically all at once, and since lenders do not always use the same credit bureaus, the multiple requests do not always show at once and improve your chances to get a bunch at once. Then you “cool your heels” for a few months and go again. I have done this for years now with 100% success.

What kinds of cards should I apply for?

This is up to you and where you want to go. But basically you will want to apply for personal and business cards all at the same time.

Must I have a corporation to get a business card?

No. If you ever sell things on Ebay or have a garage sale each year, are you not a sole proprietor? Would it not be logical to pay for costs incurred for those endeavors on a separate card to keep them separate? So, all you do is use your name to apply for business cards.

This seems too easy. What is the catch?

There is no catch. There are things to understand and there is work needed on your part. There will be minimum spend requirements for all of these cards to get the points. DO NOT buy things you do not NEED just to get points. But if you pay for things you buy anyway, that is the way to meet the spend requirements. Also, if you need some more time to make it all work, for a little cost, you can buy AMEX gift cards (NOTE CitiBank does not allow this) and give yourself extra time to accomplish the spend requirements for your card.

Is there anyone who should NOT do this?

You bet. If you are planning to buy a home, get an equity line or buy a new car, you should NOT be applying for so many credit cards.

Will this hurt my credit score?

You will drop a few points when you get all these new cards. As long as you ALWAYS pay on time, in a few months your score will be as high as it was before, if not even higher!

Where on the blog do I find all these cards you are talking about?

I have a tab called “Travel & Point Cards” that has information for both card links and information if you need to follow up on a card application with a lender (this happens often so don’t be afraid to call the banks to follow up on an application to get your final approval for the card)

This is a lot of info. What about just the basics?

Sure. I have a Renes Points “101” or learn the basics post HERE where you can get started.

How in the world do you keep track of all this? My head is spinning just from reading this far!

Good! This is a lot to take in. I suggest you read this a few times and e-mail me with questions if need be ( rene @ renespoints.com  – remove spaces). So to answer your question, my wife keeps a spreadsheet of the current 40+ credit cards we have open. We do not use them all but it still helps to keep track. The next super useful tool is Award Wallet to track every point program you have (other than American who is not playing nice right now!). You will have full access to all your accounts including personal information so you had BETTER use a UNIQUE and very very strong password for this and tell NO ONE what it is (other than putting it in your last will & testament so your loved ones can get to your points)!

So what other ways are there to get all these points? Simple. Work at it. Read the blog each day. Read the other BoardingArea.com bloggers each day. Follow all the little bitty steps to add 1000 points here and 500 points there and 3000 points over there. Guess what, they DO all add up. By answering surveys for FREE you can earn maybe as much as 2000 SkyMiles each year. That is just about 10% of the cost of a coach ticket free for your time. There are tons more you will soon see. Also sign up to get e-mails from all the airlines and hotels. You will have lots more chances to earn some points here and there. It goes on and on and on and before you know it you have earned another free trip or free hotel stays and more!

If your focus is on Delta you need to begin by studying all the posts I have under the “Essentials” tab at the top of the blog. You will gain a wealth of Delta related information to help you. It will take time but is worth the effort! Next, please take the time to review all the posts HERE that are rookie related. Lastly, I have a list of commonly asked beginner questions in this post here.

I will add to this now and then but again let me say welcome to the world of travel the way you never dreamed possible. I used to struggle to get a free coach class ticket once a year to see my mom in Sweden. Now I struggle with what to do with the millions of points I have and keep earning and I enjoy 1st class travel and soon you will too! – René
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Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.